Schloss Linderhof

Since Thursday was a German holiday and Laura's office was closed, we took advantage of the morning (until I had to be back for work in the afternoon) by getting up early and driving 1.5 hours to Ettal, Germany - the site of King Ludwig II's Linderhof Castle (Schloss Linderhof). This was a very similar drive to the beginning part of our drive to Innsbruck last week, but unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy so we couldn't see the tops of the snow-covered mountains. Nonetheless, it was still a very pretty drive (mostly through Austria, entering back into Germany where the Castle is close to the border), especially when we drove along a lake's edge for the last part of the drive.

Schloss Linderhof, built beginning in 1868, is the smallest, but most ornate of Ludwig's castles. It is also the only one that was finished, as he died before Neushwanstein or Herrenchiemsee were ever fully completed. We basically had a private tour, only two other people were there for the English version, and we learned quite a bit more about King Ludwig II of Bavaria on this tour. We have now been to two of Ludwig's castles (this one and Neushwanstein), as well as his birthplace (Nymphenburg Palace in Munich) and childhood home (Hohenschwangau Castle right by Neuschwanstein). Ludwig was definitely a strange guy, a collector of vases and a big fan of the musical dramas and writings of Richard Wagner. He had three ridiculous castles built for him, which got him into some financial trouble and led people to believe he was going crazy. He was very private and shy, but really enjoyed his elaborate castles and private plays, rarely surrounding himself with others, even to eat dinner. Unlike most king's castles, there are not even any portraits of him in any of his castles. Ludwig never married or had any children, leading many to believe he was gay. Rumor has it, King Ludwig II was the "only queen in the kingdom." It's still a mystery how he died - whether he was murdered, committed suicide, or was an accident while out on Lake Chiemsee near his Herrenchiemsee Castle (East of Munich). Because he had no heirs, his successor was his younger brother, Otto I of Bavaria.














As I said, this was his smallest, but most ornate castle. Although much smaller, it was inspired by Versailles and Ludwig's idol, King Louis XIV of France. Laura even made the comment, "it looks smaller than Greg's house." But the land and gardens surrounding the castle, as well as the elaborate decorations inside made this castle very impressive. Maybe it was because of the private tour we got, or maybe it's because this one was actually completed, but we enjoyed the tour inside this castle more than Neushwanstein. While the gardens and fountains were very nice, I still don't think it stacks up to the beauty of the surrounding area in Schwangau (although we couldn't see the mountains here either, because of the cloud coverage). Schloss Linderhof was actually considered Ludwig's hunting palace, and was his favorite residence during the last 8 years of his life, spending about 14 days per month there. His main residence during his rein was the Nymphenburg Palace and Residenz buildings in Munich. To reach Linderhof, he had to take a train part of the way, and then pick up a horse and carriage ride the rest of the way in. This took him about 6 hours, as compared to the 1.5 hour drive now.














Scattered around the gardens and grounds of Linderhof were a couple other buildings ("Tea Rooms" and hunting huts), as well as the Venus Grotto up the hill from the castle. This was an artificially created cave built for the king, as an illustration of the first act of Wagner's Tannhäuser. This might have been the coolest part of the tour for us. In the grotto was a small "lake" and a golden-shelled boat that Ludwig liked to be rowed in across to his one-person balcony to view his private plays in this artificially illuminated grotto.